The holidays are here! A time to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and generally spread good cheer. It's also a great time to take pictures of your pets. Pose your rabbit, hamster, guinea pig, rat, ferret, chinchilla, gerbil, hedgehog, sugar glider, mouse or other small exotic mammal pet by a holiday item or outfit it in holiday or seasonal gear. Time flies, so don't miss this chance to immortalize your critter with a holiday portrait. Scroll down and fill out the form to enter!

The contest runs through December 31, 2012. Your first entry earns you 250 Club Critter points (be sure you sign in to your Club Critter account before uploading your photo to earn the points). Club Critter points can be used to purchase items in the Avatar shop or redeem items from the rewards catalog.

Editors will select one winner after the contest ends. The winner of the contest receives 1,000 Club Critter points and his or her choice of a copy of the 2013 issue of Critters USA magazine, the 2012 issue of Ferrets USA magazine or the 2012 issue of Rabbits USA magazine, plus a SmallAnimalChannel noisemaker. Two runners-up will also receive a SmallAnimalChannel noisemaker.

The Critter Holiday Portrait contest is open to small animal pets only (guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, hamsters, etc.). If you have a dog, cat, bird, reptile, fish or horse, be sure to check out our sister sites (click on the link) for information about those species and to check for contests.

*Content generated by our loyal visitors, which includes comments and club postings, is free of constraints from our editors’ red pens, and therefore not governed by I-5 Publishing LLC’s Gold Standard Quality Content, but instead allowed to follow the free form expression necessary for quick, inspired and spontaneous communication.